Andy Serkis To Direct Motion Capture Version Of ‘Animal Farm’

Andy Serkis will make his directorial debut with the motion capture version of Animal Farm, according to the New York Times. The actor who famously portrayed Gollum in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy will bring his unique talents to the latest big-screen adaptation of author George Orwell’s classic novel.

The actor, whose motion capture studio Imaginarium will produce the film, is also slated to star in the Animal Farm adaptation. Given the actor’s history with these sort of performances, this project should fit Serkis like a glove.

“We are delighted to officially announce our involvement in bringing this classic yet controversial fable to life, hopefully allowing it to resonate for our times with a combination of a fresh perspective, real emotional heart, a great deal of humor and satire,” the actor said in a recent statement. “By utilizing performance capture, a deeply talented and committed cast of actors will be able to explore and fully inhabit Orwell’s fairy tale world where ‘some animals are more equal than others.’ ”

Beyond the information contained in the official press release, nothing much is currently known about the project. However, the studio did reveal that it had also acquired rights to author Samantha Shannon’s dystopian novel The Bone Season. Nothing more about the films were revealed.

Andy Serkis will famously reprise his role as Gollum in director Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, a film that is being split into three pieces. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor will tackle the role of Caesar once again in director Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to the 2010 box office hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Are you a fan of author George Orwell’s 1945 novel Animal Farm? Do you think Andry Serkis and his motion capture studio Imaginarium are the right fit for the project?